Construction season meets football season near the Big House this weekend

Some ongoing construction and closures to be aware of include the 300 block of South Fifth Avenue in downtown Ann Arbor, which is closed until next year; the East Stadium bridges lane closures, and the reconstruction of West Stadium Boulevard from Suffolk Avenue to Hutchins Avenue.

View a map of road work in Ann Arbor here.

Road construction could thwart game-day traffic headed to Michigan Stadium using South Fifth Avenue.

File photo

Homayoon Pirooz, manager of project management for the city of Ann Arbor, said he doesn't expect construction projects and lane closures to pose much of a problem for game- day traffic.

“All of this construction and changes in traffic lanes does have some impact, but I wouldn’t call them a problem,” Pirooz said. “If it was a work day, a business day, I would say yes.”

Pirooz said while motorists will have to deal with some lane and road closures, actual construction workers and their equipment won't be part of the equation Saturday.

“When the lanes are open and there’s construction just a few feet away, that always has an impact on traffic … but we don’t have that on Saturdays,” he said.

Julie Weatherbee, who lives two blocks away from the Michigan Stadium, has learned to deal with game-day traffic - construction or no construction.

“We pretty much walk everywhere we go, so for us it’s not much of an issue,” said Weatherbee, who said she attends football games on occasion. “We’re two blocks from the stadium, so we’ll get the same traffic (as usual).”

When asked whether she thought the ongoing road work on top of the typical football traffic would put a crimp in her day, Weatherbee said, “It didn’t last year, and there was more construction.”

Michael Beaton plans to leave his home in Grosse Pointe Woods about 11 a.m. Saturday to make it to Ann Arbor by about 12:30 p.m. — a few hours before the game starts.

“Definitely going this weekend,” said Beaton. “In the past I’ve gotten there an hour to an hour-and-a-half early.”

Beaton said he plans to give himself extra time to get to the stadium, not necessarily because of construction-related traffic, but because “it’s a rededication game, and it’s the first game in the renovated stadium.”

And recent construction at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School won’t halt game day parking there.

Liz Margolis, spokeswoman for Ann Arbor Public Schools, said parking will be available at the high school this year, despite work done on its grounds.

General parking at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School will cost $35 per vehicle and is provided through University of Michigan event parking. And as in years past, the school will accommodate as many as 5,000 vehicles.

“We usually fill it every game,” she said. “We did plan this construction schedule so the ground would be firm enough, and the grass would be developed enough that we could park over those areas.”

Beaton said a certain amount of traffic is to be expected on football Saturdays.

“Traffic is normally OK. It’s a necessary evil,” he said. “If you want to have 100,000 people, you’re going to have some sort of traffic.”

Heather Lockwood is a reporter for AnnArbor.com, reach her at heatherlockwood@annarbor.com, or follow her on Twitter.